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All civilizations become either spacefaring or extinct.
CARL SAGAN, Pale Blue Dot
Some say that we should stop exploring space, that the cost in human lives is too great. But Columbia's crew would not have wanted that. We are a curious species, always wanting to know what is over the next hill, around the next corner, on the next island. And we have been that way for thousands of years.
STUART ATKINSON, New Mars, Mar. 7, 2003
The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.
The time will come when man will know even what is going on in the other planets and perhaps be able to visit them.
HENRY FORD, Theosophist Magazine, Feb. 1930
To venture into space we must be strong-willed and determined. We must be fully committed to its exploration and discovery; space permits no half measures and is unforgiving of mistakes.
HENRY JOY MCCRACKEN, LM, Nov. 1997
The second best thing about space travel is that the distances involved make war very difficult, usually impractical, and almost always unnecessary. This is probably a loss for most people, since war is our race's most popular diversion, one which gives purpose and color to dull and stupid lives. But it is a great boon to the intelligent man who fights only when he must—never for sport.
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN, Time Enough For Love
Imagine we could accelerate continuously at 1 g -- what we're comfortable with on good old terra firma -- to the midpoint of our voyage, and decelerate continuously at 1 g until we arrive at our destination. It would take a day to get to Mars, a week and a half to Pluto, a year to the Oort Cloud, and a few years to the nearest stars.
CARL SAGAN, Pale Blue Dot
A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged. One can't put the difference into words. When the man is a friend it may become painful: the old footing is not easy to recover.
As long as we are a single-planet species, we are vulnerable to extinction by a planetwide catastrophe, natural or self-induced. Once we become a multiplanet species, our chances to live long and prosper will take a huge leap skyward.
DAVID GRINSPOON, Slate, Jan. 7, 2004
Mankind is drawn to the heavens for the same reason we were once drawn into unknown lands and across the open sea. We choose to explore space because doing so improves our lives, and lifts our national spirit. So let us continue the journey.
GEORGE W. BUSH, speech at NASA Headquarters, Jan. 14, 2004
[Space travel] will come, but only when there is a high enough demand so that you can have a "public highway" system. To support today's air traffic network, you've got to have a million passengers constantly on the move. The same will be true in space: It's not really a technology problem, it's more a sort of chicken-and-egg economic problem. I hope that it will grow, probably on the back of the military. The military has needs for all kinds of space launching and is prepared to pay for it. So with luck something like this space highway will develop. It doesn't matter who pays for it initially. In the end it will belong to everybody.
FREEMAN DYSON, Discover Magazine, June 2008
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